NEWSPAPER SECTION: News, WRITER: Wichit Chantanusornsiri

Millions of rice farmers nationwide are set to receive government funding this week as part of the 1,000-baht-per-rai agricultural support programme.

Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said on Tuesday the project received cabinet approval two weeks ago with the aim of supporting both off-season and in-season rice growers with their farming costs.

The programme operates under a budget of 45.1 billion baht, aiming to reach more than four million households.

It lasts from Aug 19 to Dec 31 for off-season farmers.

Registered in-season farmers will be compensated from now until the end of September 2026.

A maximum of 10 rai of rice farmland per household will be compensated under this programme.

The payment rollout began on Monday, Mr Julapun said, with the first group of 769,461 off-season rice farmers across the country receiving a total of 6.28 billion baht.

From Tuesday to Thursday, payments for in-season farmers are scheduled.

Over 286,000 farmers in the North are set to receive a total of 2.46 billion baht.

on Wednesday, 1.29 million farmers in the Northeast are set to get 10.56 billion baht.

Finally, 137,000 farmers in other regions will receive 1.25 billion baht Thursday.

Altogether, 2.48 million farmers nationwide will benefit from this first round of payments totalling 20.58 billion baht. However, Mr Julapun revealed that over 20 billion baht remains earmarked for additional disbursement.

The deputy minister urged farmers who have not received payments to contact their respective Department of Agricultural Extension district offices to ensure their names are correctly registered, so the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) can proceed with the payment.

According to Mr Julapun, transfers are made directly to farmers’ bank accounts, not via the government’s Thang Rath application, to accommodate those without access to digital platforms.

The BAAC is also preparing over 50 billion baht to support farmers with rice in their storage at 1,500 baht per tonne during the 2025/26 farming season.

Published Date: September 3, 2025